Oil well slip handle

ABSTRACT

A handle has essentially three parts constituting a flexible, self-aligning, virtually indestructable heavy duty slip handle. A spring loaded central holding unit has opposite ends formed with bearing raceways that aid in making swivel connections with a removable hand grip and a removable attachment element structured for securement to a slip body. The attachment element and hand grip are interchangeable.

United States Patent [191 Clark June 26, 1973 OIL WELL SLIP HANDLE [76] Inventor: Harold C. Clark, 2446 N. Ventura Avenue, Ventura, Calif. 93001 [22] Filed: Apr. 6, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 241,660

[52] US. Cl 24/263 HA [51'] Int. Cl A44b 21/00 [58] Field of Search 166/775; 24/249 DP,

24/263 D, 263 DL, 263 DB, 263 CA, 263 D8, 263 D0, 263 KB, 263 KS, 263 DC, 263 DD, 263 SC, 263 HA, 243 SP, 255 SP, 259 SP, 73

CF, 73 GS, 123 G, 123 H; 16/124 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3/1954 Lucky 280/480 x 2,770,438 11/1956 Zingone 24/73 CS X 3,231,950 2/1966 Lummis 24/73 CF 3,268,968 8/1966 Crickmer 24/263 HA Primary Examiner-Donald A. Grifi'in AttorneyPastoriza & Kelly [5 7] ABSTRACT A handle has essentially three parts constituting a flexible, self-aligning, virtually indestructable heavy duty slip handle.

A spring loaded central holding unit has opposite ends formed with bearing raceways that aid in making swivel connections with a removable hand grip and a removable attachment element structured for securement to a slip body. The attachment element and hand grip are interchangeable.

12 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures PMENTED 26515 wawr BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 7 This invention generally relates to heavy duty handles and more specifically relates to slip handles for oil well drilling rigs.

Oil well drilling rigs employ a string of drill pipe composed of individual pipe sections linked together in end-to-end alignment. In order to assemble and disassemble the string of drill pipe, a slip is customarily used to releasably clamp a lower pipe section and prevent it from descending while an immediately upper pipe section is being coupled or uncoupled.

A slip is generally torus shaped and constructed from a circular array of hinged arcuate sections that can be closed to surround and clampingly engage a pipe section or opened for removal.

To move the slip arcuate sections between their closed and opened positions they are ordinarily equipped with slip handles that are molded or cast into integral rigid units.

Rigid handles are prone to damage or destruction upon being subjected to severe blows, since they are incapable of absorbing much shock and enduring much strain.

Moreover, rigid handles may often be uncomfortable for the roughneck or workman to grasp and manipulate. Rigid handles also pose safety hazards and can be partially responsible for wrist sprains and arm injuries resulting from sudden jolts. Rigid handles cannot yield by way of rotating or bending out of the way and this resistance increases the risk of injury.

Some effort has been untaken to alleviate some of the above mentioned problems as indicated by the slip handle disclosed in US. Pat. No. 3,268,968 to Crickmer.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Briefly stated this invention comprehends an oil well slip handle that is flexible, self-aligning, easy and safe to use and virtually indestructable.

In its broader aspects the slip handle incorporates a central holding unit capable of flexing. A hand grip unit is swivelly and removably coupled to one end of the central holding unit and an attachment element is removably coupled to the other end of the central holding unit and is structured for securement to a slip body. The hand grip element includes a closed loop bar for grasping that is preferably triangular in shape.

The central unit includes a pair of axially aligned and spaced fasteners that are connected to the hand grip unit and attachment element. A retaining element is positioned between and interconnects the fasteners while a resilient means is engaged against the fasteners to spread them apart. The fasteners are formed with shoulders and their mutually innermost ends are formed with rings. Preferably the retaining element is a link looped through the rings and the resilient means is a coiled spring that surrounds the link with its opposite ends urged against the fasteners shoulders.

The mutually outermost portions of the fasteners are formed with annular grooves constituting raceways. The hand grip unit and attachment element are formed with sleeves sized to slide over the fastener outermost portions to cover this corresponding raceways. Bearing elements such as set screws with oval heads are coupled to the sleeves and arranged so oval shaped heads project into the raceways.

The fasteners are substantially identically constructed and are mutually interchangeable.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The numerous benefits and unique aspects of the present invention will be fully understood when the following detailed description is studied in conjunction with the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective sectional view of an oil well slip, showing three slip handles constructed in accordance with this invention secured to the slip;

FIG. 2 is a perspective, exploded view, showing details of the three primary components of the slip handle; and,

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a portion of the central holding unit assembled within a second embodiment of the attachment element.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to FIG. 1 a portion of a conventional slip 10 is shown. A slip body 11 has a number of sections 12, 13 and 14 which are coupled together by hinge and pin assemblies 15 and 16 and are swung to relatively open positions. Anchoring posts 17, 18 and 19 are mounted to top parts of the slip body sections 12, 13 and 14 respectively.

Coupled within the anchoring posts 17, 18 and 19 are three slip handles 20 constructed in accordance with this invention. The slip handles 20 are pivotally secured within their corresponding anchoring posts by way of heavy duty transverse pins.

Referring to FIG. 2 the slip handle 20 has three primary components including a central holding. unit 21, a hand grip unit 22 that can be swivelly and removably coupled to one end of the holding unit 21 and an attachment element 23 that can be likewise swivelly and removably coupled to the opposite end of the central holding unit 21. I

The attachment element 23 has a single engagement lug 24 through which a transverse hole 25 is formed to receive a heavy duty pin so that the slip handle 20 can be pivotally secured to a slip body in a manner shown in FIG. 1. The attachment element 23 includes a hollow sleeve 26 in whose side wall three or more threaded apertures 27 are formed for receiving three or more corresponding bearing elements 28. Each bearing element 28 is a socket headed set screw having an oval tip or head 29.

The hand grip unit 22 has a closed loop bar 30 of triangular shape for grasping by a roughneck or other workman. A hollow sleeve 31 has an opening 32 and three or more internally threaded holes 33. Three or more bearing elements in the form of set screws 34 with an oval heads 35 are structured to coact with corresponding transverse holes 33.

The central holding unit 21 includes a pair of identically constructed and interchangeable fasteners 36 and 37 that are coaxially aligned and spaced from one another. The fasteners 36 and 37 are formed at their mutually outermost portions with stubby cylindrical blocks 38 and 39 that are sized to fit within hollow sleeves 31 and 26 respectively. Blocks 38 and 39 are formed with annular grooves 40 and 41 that constitute raceways to receive radially inwardly projecting oval heads 35 and 29 respectively. When sleeves 26 and 31 are slipped over the blocks 38 and 39 and the set screws 28 and 34 are adjusted with the oval heads 29 and 35 projecting into their corresponding raceways, then both the attachment element 23 and the hand grip 22 become swivelly coupled to the central holding unit 21.

This dual swivel coupling permits hand grip 22 andlor central holding unit 21 to yield out of the way by rotation upon the handle 20 being struck by a sharp jolt.

The fasteners 36 and 37 include radially extending enlarged annular shoulders 42 and 43. The mutually innermost portions of fasteners 36 and 37 are formed with eyelets or rings 44 and 45.

A retaining element in the form of a clip or chain link 50 is looped through rings 44 and 45. A resilient means in the form of a coil spring 52 surrounds link 50 with its opposing ends urged against annular shoulders 42 and 53, tending to separate or spread them apart.

The resulting spring loaded handle 20 is flexible in multiple directions and is virtually indestructable. The central holding unit 21 can be twisted or bowed out of shape without being vulnerable to excessive strain or destruction. The original position of the central holding unit 21 will be restored after the distorting force is relaxed and, accordingly, the fasteners 36 and 37 will be realigned. Harmful effects that would otherwise occur from severe impacts will be limited or sharply minimized inasmuch as both the holding unit 21 and hand grip unit 22 can yield out of the way with swivel action.

Referring to FIG. 3 the fastener 37, the same one as shown in FIG. 2, has a hole 59 defined by ring 45. The cylindrical block portion of fastener 37 is shown fully installed within an attachment element 60 that has a pair of engagement lugs 61 and 62 rather than a single engagement lug as is disclosed in connection with the FIG. 2 embodiment. The engagement lugs 61 and 62 have transverse holes 63 and 64 through which a common heavy duty pivot pin may be inserted to secure the attachment element 60 to a corresponding anchoring post of a slip body. The hollow sleeve 65 and bearing elements 66 are identical with the hollow sleeve 26 and bearing elements 28 of the FIG. 2 embodiment.

Attachment element 60 and attachment element 23 are interchangeable so that the slip handle 20 of this invention may be used with different styles of conventional slips. For example, one well known type of slip, produced by the Braash-Ross Company (e.g.; see US.

Pat. No. 3,268,968 to Crickmer) has dual anchoring posts with which attachment element 23 may be used. Another type of well known conventional slip produced by the Varco Company uses a single anchoring post with which attachment element 60 may be used.

OPERATION Keeping the above constructions in mind it can be understood how disadvantages of conventional slip handles are overcome or substantially eliminated by the present invention.

Slip handle 20 is very versatile and can be used in conjunction with various conventional slips used in conjunction with oil well drilling rigs. If the conventional slip is of the type where dual anchoring posts are employed, then an attachment element 23 with a single engagement lug 24 can be swivelly secured to the central holding unit 21. If the conventional slip is of the type where single anchoring posts are employed, then an attachment element 60 with dual engagement lugs 61 and 62 should be secured to the slip handle 20. If,

alternatively, the slip has one or more anchoring posts of different construction or geometry than those mentioned above, an attachment element can be configured to mate with it and swivelly coupled to the same central holding unit 21.

After the three or more slip handles 20 are secured to the slip, in a manner shown in FIG. 1 for example, the slip handles 20 may be used for the customary puroses. p If a sharp jolt is applied to a slip handle 20 it will yield and thereafter become restored to its original shape. Inasmuch as the hand grip unit 22 is swivelly connected to the central holding unit 21, a workman may be able to obviate injury that otherwise would occur if the slip handle were rigid or semi-rigid.

From the foregoing it will be evident that the present invention has provided an oil well slip handle in which all of the various advantages are fully realized.

What is claimed is:

1. A heavy duty oil well handle assembly comprising:

a. an oil well slip handle central holding unit capable of flexing laterally of its axis;

b. an oil slip handle hand grip unit with one of its ends being free and its other end being swivelly and removably coupled to one end of the central holding unit; and,

c. an oil well slip handle attachment element removably coupled to the other end of the central holding unit and being structured for securement to a slip body.

2. The structure according to claim 1, wherein:

the hand grip unit includes a closed loop bar for grasping.

3. The structure according to claim 1, wherein;

the central holding unit includes a pair of axially aligned and spaced fasteners that are removably coupled to the hand grip unit and attachment element.

4. The structure according to claim 3, including:

a retaining element positioned between and connected to the fasteners; and,

resilient means engaged against the fasteners to spread them apart.

5. The structure according to claim 4, wherein;

the fasteners are formed with shoulders and the mutually innermost ends of the fasteners are formed with rings;

the retaining element is a link looped through the rings, and,

the resilient means is a coiled spring surrounding the link with its opposed ends urged against the fastener shoulders.

6. The structure according to claim 3, wherein;

the outermost portion of the fastener connected to the hand grip unit is formed with an annular groove constituting a raceway,

the hand grip unit has a sleeve slid over the fastener outermost portion to cover the raceway, and,

bearing means is provided in the raceway to assist in permitting swivelling action between the hand grip unit and the central holding unit.

' 7. The structure according to claim 6, wherein;

the bearing means includes at least three set screws engaged through the sleeve wall with oval heads projecting into the raceway.

8. The structure according to claim 3, wherein;

the outermost portion of the fastener connected to the attachment element is formed with an annular groove constituting a raceway,

the attachment element has a sleeve slid over the fastener outermost portion to cover the raceway, and,

bearing means is provided in the raceway to assist in permitting swivel action between the attachment element and central holding unit.

9. The structure according to claim 3, wherein;

the mutually outermost portions of the fasteners are formed with annular grooves constituting raceways,

the hand grip unit has a sleeve slid over a fastener outermost portion to cover the associated raceway,

the attachment element has a sleeve slid over the other fasteners outermost portion to cover the associated raceway, and

bearing means is provided in each raceway to assist in permitting the attachment element and hand grip unit to swivel relative to the central holding unit.

10. The structure according to claim 3, wherein;

the fasteners are substantially identically constructed and mutually interchangeable.

11. The structure according to claim 1, including:

a slip body with multiple interconnected sections,

5 comprising:

a. a hand grip unit having a first hollow sleeve and a close looped bar for grasping; b. an attachment element having a second hollow sleeve and an engagement lug for securement to an article; and, c. a central holding unit including:

c 1. a pair of axially aligned and spaced fasteners whose mutually outermost portions are formed with annular grooves constituting raceways and whose mutually innermost portions are formed with rings and annular shoulders;

c 2. a link looped through the fastener rings;

0 3. a coiled spring surrounding the link with opposite ends urged against the fastener shoulders; and g c 4. swivel, connection means including sets of bearing elements secured to the first and second sleeves and formed with oval heads projecting into corresponding raceways. 

1. A heavy duty oil well handle assembly comprising: a. an oil well slip handle central holding unit capable of flexing laterally of its axis; b. an oil slip handle hand grip unit with one of its ends being free and its other end being swivelly and removably coupled to one end of the central holding unit; and, c. an oil well slip handle attachment element removably coupled to the other end of the central holding unit and being structured for securement to a slip body.
 2. The structure according to claim 1, wherein: the hand grip unit includes a closed loop bar for grasping.
 3. The structure according to claim 1, wherein; the central holding unit includes a pair of axially aligned and spaced fasteners that are removably coupled to the hand grip unit and attachment element.
 4. The structure according to claim 3, including: a retaining element positioned between and connected to the fasteners; and, resilient means engaged against the fasteners to spread them apart.
 5. The structure according to claim 4, wherein; the fasteners are formed with shoulders and the mutually innermost ends of the fasteners are formed with rings; the retaining element is a link looped through the rings, and, the resilient means is a coiled spring surrounding the link with its opposed ends urged against the fastener shoulders.
 6. The structure according to claim 3, wherein; the outermost portion of the fastener connected to the hand grip unit is formed with an annular groove constituting a raceway, the hand grip unit has a sleeve slid over the fastener outermost portion to cover the raceway, and, bearing means is provided in the raceway to assist in permitting swivelling action between the hand grip unit and the central holding unit.
 7. The structure according to claim 6, wherein; the bearing means includes at least three set screws engaged through the sleeve wall with oval heads projecting into the raceway.
 8. The structure according to claim 3, wherein; the outermost portion of the fastener connected to the attachment element is formed with an annular groove constituting a raceway, the attachment element has a sleeve slid over the fastener outermost portion to cover the raceway, and, bearing means is provided in the raceway to assist in permitting swivel action between the attachment element and central holding unit.
 9. The structure according to claim 3, wherein; the mutually outermost portions of the fasteners are formed with annular grooves constituting raceways, the hand grip unit has a sleeve slid over a fastener outermost portion to cover the associated raceway, the attachment element has a sleeve slid over the other fastener''s outermost portion to cover the associated raceway, and bearing means is provided in each raceway to assist in permitting the attachment element and hand grip unit to swivel relative to the central holding unit.
 10. The structure according to claim 3, wherein; the fasteners are substantially identically constructed and mutually interchangeable.
 11. The structure according to claim 1, including: a slip body with multiple interconnected sections, and, slip handles connected to all of the slip body sections by way of their attachment elements.
 12. A spring loaded, self-aligning heavy duty handle, comprising: a. a hand grip unit having a first hollow sleeve and a close looped bar for grasping; b. an attachment element having a second hollow sleeve and an engagement lug for securement to an article; and, c. a central holding unit including: c
 1. a pair of axially aligned and spaced fasteners whose mutually outermost portions are formed with annular grooves constituting raceways and whose mutually innermost portions are formed with rings and annular shoulders; c
 2. a link looped through the fastener rings; c
 3. a coiled spring surrounding the link with opposite ends urged against the fastener shoulders; and c
 4. swivel connection means including sets of bearing elements secured to the first and second sleeves and formed with oval heads projecting into corresponding raceways. 